Health mistakes often cause male impotency or erectile dysfunction. Sometimes, the mistakes are reversible, but not always. Knowingly and unknowingly, many of us do things that damage our health and once the damage is done, regretting the loss doesn’t change anything, but ruins one’s entire life.

Impotency in men is a serious problem, and by avoiding silly mistakes that cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems, one can easily lower the risks. Being capable of impregnating women is one of the greatest abilities given to men, and once this ability is lost due to lower sperm count or infertility, it badly damages physical and mental health.

There are several myths associated to what makes men impotent and what causes a lower sperm count. For example, wearing tight underwear is said to be a reason behind ED, but this is just a myth and the claim is not backed by any research. But there are some daily-life habits that damage fertility in male.

Here you’ll read about 15 silly mistakes you are probably making, and as a result, those mistakes are leading you or your male friend to impotency. It would be great if men can learn from it and avoid making such mistakes and maintain the right sperm count. And even if you are a female reading this, share this knowledge with the one you care about.

15. Cradling Your Laptop

Use of laptops and Wi-Fi is common today. But many of us put the laptop on our lap while watching a TV series, movie or while working. The electromagnetic radiation generated by Wi-Fi enabled laptops is more harmful than ordinary PCs. Such radiation can lead men to sexual impotence if they put it on their lap for long periods of time.

The heat over the scrotal area damages sperms and reduces sperm count. It also affects sperm production and results in infertility in men. Those who believe that keeping a pillow or a book between the lap and the laptop can help avoid the heat generated by the laptop are wrong because doing so will also block air and vents, resulting in more heat.

14. Performing Under Pressure

There’s a beautiful woman with you in bed and her eyes are telling you that she is ready. You know that every single piece of you is saying “yes!” but you also want to stay longer and are afraid of a poor erection and premature ejaculation.

The anxiety leads you to act stupid and you start believing that the sex you want at the moment is not going to happen. And it really happens. You find yourself unable to get it up, or even if you manage to get it up, you come too fast or totally fail. The awful feeling leads men to impotency and they don’t even want to try having sex in the first place.

13. Not Brushing Your Teeth

Of course, you don’t enjoy bad breath, but if you still skip brushing your teeth like a kid, you are inviting sexual impotence. You may be thinking that we’re pulling your leg, that there can’t possibly be a link between bad breath and impotency. But you’re wrong. A study reveals that men who suffer from gum infection, known as periodontitis, are likely to suffer from impotence.

So, if you have a burning sensation in your gums, the chances of suffering from erectile dysfunction are three times higher than the men with healthy gums. So never skip brushing your teeth.

An American Dental Association study revealed that only 66 percent of men take good care of their teeth by brushing twice or more in a day. So, it’s better you maintain good oral hygiene and avoid the risk.

12. Snoring A Lot

Yes, snoring can affect sexual life badly, not because your partner is annoyed due to the noise, but the problem leads to male impotence. According to a study by the American Sleep Apnea Association, snoring leads to high blood pressure and several cardiovascular diseases. When the penis requires blood, such problems cause trouble in achieving or maintaining an erection. Your penis stops receiving enough blood and you miss the opportunities in bed.

A study published by the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests that 18 million American men deal with sleep apnea. Out of them, 69 percent experienced lack of sexual desires, while 46 percent reported erectile dysfunction, known as ED. 

So, if you snore a lot, this problem can lead to no sex drive, ED and the inability to experience sexual desires.

11. Taking Anabolic Steroids

Women love bodybuilders bulking it up and sweating it out at the gym. Many muscular men consume anabolic steroids for rapid muscle growth. The anabolic steroids are said to give more power to the men and reduce their recovery time.

Steroids simply increase the testosterone level by producing artificial hormones in the body. The more testosterone a man has, the better sexual arousal he can experience. However, this is a myth, but still many are still believers. It is not as simple as it seems.

Using steroids for a long time restricts the natural growth of testosterone and results in male impotence. So when a man stops taking steroids, he often becomes incapable of producing the testosterone hormone naturally.

10. Hair Loss Treatment

Hair loss can be a highly disappointing experience and many men face this terrible issue in their life. To prevent hair fall, men are increasingly using drugs to get their hair back.

Meanwhile, skin and healthcare experts say that taking drugs may not help in stopping hair fall and there’s no guarantee that the hair will start growing again. In fact, taking medications like Finasteride and Dutasteride may ruin a man’s sex life. The drugs can even leave men with erectile dysfunction.

A study reveals that many people have experienced impotency for several years after completing hair loss treatments. Those who experienced this say that they were unable to get an erection and even taking Viagra didn’t help. These drugs block natural hormone growth and restrict the testosterone’s activeness.

9. Adult Entertainment Overdose

Don’t make watching adult entertainment a habit. If it is already an inseparable part of your life, you need to stay away from porn addiction because it may trigger your brain to react differently to sexual stimuli.

When you rely too much on adult entertainment, the brain plays tricks on your body and you make porn the basis of sexual satisfaction. As a result, it can lead to erectile dysfunction and bring on impotence. 

Watching people performing sex acts can also lead to one developing problems with self-confidence. Fortunately, the cure is simple. All you need to do is to stop watching porn and stop masturbating all the time.

8. Keeping A Smartphone In Your Front Pocket

At any time, you can easily spot many people using smartphones. For better or worse, we are all participants of the digital age, and owning a smartphone has become a necessity. Several studies have confirmed that erectile dysfunction or impotence is linked to smartphone usage. If you have a turned-on phone in your front pocket, it will be better if you change this habit.

Case studies show that men who keep switched-on smartphones in their front pocket for more than four hours a day may suffer impotency. How many of you have taken your phone out of the pocket after reading this? If not, then you should.

A study was conducted on a group of men in Australia and Egypt for six months. The results were shocking. Men with erectile dysfunction carry their switched-on phone longer than those who do not have this health issue. Having a phone around looks good, but achieving an erection and being capable of impregnating women is far better.

7. Drinking Coca-Cola

However, this one may put you off, but if you really care about your sexual health, it is better you avoid drinking such beverages. Scientists have revealed that if you drink one litre of coke per day, you may end up losing your sperm count by up to 30 percent.

A study conducted at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark shows that those who consumed cola regularly had 35 million per millilitre sperm count and the non-addicts had about 56 million per millilitre.

The dramatic side-effect of cola on men’s sperm count suggests that consuming coke for long time can lead men to impotence. The study also suggests that the reduced sperm count can even go to a level where the person can lose the ability to produce sperm completely.

6. Keep Eating Salt…Or Not

If you really want to kill your man’s sex life, keep feeding him salt. And if you are the man who wants to kill his own sex life, keep eating it. Salt slowly kills men’s ability to maintain a normal sex life, as it causes erectile dysfunction and even leads to infertility in men.

Studies suggest that the reason behind not being able to achieve or maintain an erection is the lack of blood flow to penis. No matter how much a man is sexually aroused, if his intake of salt is beyond normal, enough blood won’t flow to his penis and he won’t be able to hold on for long. The only solution to this problem is avoiding excessive amount of salt and salty foods.

5. The Bad Habit of Smoking

Even Viagra can’t help if you smoke too much. Smokers usually feel that they don’t smoke too much or they’ve just started, while their friends have been smoking since decades. One thing we should never forget is that we all are different. Our bodies are different, the nutrients we get are different, so the effect of smoking will also be different on our bodies.

Research suggests that for fast and firm erections, quitting smoking is the best approach. A study in 2016 found that smokers damage their sperms badly and that the sperm is less healthy if you are a smoker. Smoking also causes DNA fragmentation, which can lead to impotency.

4. Hot Water Bath

Men who do not wish to lose their ability to produce strong sperm should stay away from a hot tub. A study by the University of California claims that direct exposure of the penis and testicles to hot water kills sperms. If the same is being repeated regularly, men can even lose their ability to produce sperm.

The problems can range from impaired sperm production to complete infertility. The good thing is that the damage can be reversible if your body remains capable of producing sperm, so you need to be very careful with hot water baths. Once you start keeping your organs in the ideal temperature, you are able to regain the ability you once lost.

3. Applying Sunscreen

Some of the ingredients of sunscreen products available in the US and Europe cause sperms to function poorly. CatSper is a calcium ion channel that works in sperm cells. When you apply sunscreen, the product hinders the channel, which turns out to be one of the reasons for impotence in men.

The CatSper is crucial for sperms to function properly because sperms act as receptor for the progesterone hormone. The calcium ions, due to this reflux don’t function well and as a result, sunscreen leads men to infertility. Of course, you would not always want to avoid sunscreen, but if you apply sunscreen, make sure you wash your skin as soon as you are back home.

2. Using Sex Toys

Phthalates is a chemical which is used to soften plastic products such as packaging material, and even some sex toys. The chemical is also used in shampoos, nail polish and soaps. Researchers have found that the exposure to this chemical can lead men to impotency.

According to a research, it was found that those who were in direct contact with this chemical were more likely to face sex problems such as erectile dysfunction, ejaculation issues and infertility.

The exact amount of this chemical that causes sexual problems needs to be investigated, but the researchers say that if a man is in contact with the chemical, their sexual life can become problematic.

1. Not Having Sex At All

If you are not having sex, what are you trying to do? You’re not going to sell sperms in bulk on eBay, of course, but if you are abstaining from sex then you are killing your fertility.

According to many health experts, a man should have sex at least once a week. And even if you don’t have anyone, there’s nothing wrong in ejaculating. Many researchers including the Israel’s Soroka University Medical Centre, and Finland’s University Hospital in Tampere have found in their research that abstaining from sex can lower the sperm production rate.

Not having sex can even damage the shape of sperms you produce. So don’t be obsessed with savings and just release it. Just don’t overdo.